Paid Virtual Concerts Are Coming to Facebook Live

As artists continue to perform virtual concerts, Facebook will soon be creating an option for these artists to charge money for their live shows through the popular social media platform.

The news comes alongside a number of changes Facebook is making to help users stay better connected as much of the world practices social distancing to mitigate the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus, which has now sickened over three million people worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.

One of the several changes to the live aspect of Facebook is that events can be set as live only and a paid option for pages — whether hosting a concert, instructional class, conference, etc. — will be deployed soon.

Those who wish to view Facebook Live events no longer need to have their own Facebook account as streams will be available for viewing as web pages. If you're battling a poor Internet connection or have limited data, users will also have the option of listening to the audio portion of the video only. Pages can elect to provide a toll-free call-in number that will afford the same audio-only capabilities to the user as well.

Obviously, for performing artists, the paid model is welcome. Since the decline of traditional album sales, artists have heavily relied on touring as their primary source of revenue and their inability to get on the road has not only impacted them and their crews but also venues and their employees along with so many more.

Meanwhile, Devin Townsend has already performed two paid virtual concerts, albeit not through Facebook live, in an effort to raise funds for COVID-19 relief. This pair of shows generated $126,000, of which $81,000 will benefit the U.K.'s National Health Service and $45,000 will go to the Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver, Canada. A third show on May 2 will find proceeds being donated to the New York Hospital.